Comfort Zones
by battlevalkyrie
Summary: When Tom and B'Elanna decide to delve into a new holoprogram they need someone to watch Miral. They turn to their favorite former drone for assistance. T/B, C/7 and will feature the whole crew at some point. If you like it, please review. :) Thank you.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek, big shocker... lol **_

**A/N: This is an idea I've had for awhile, I hope it turns out well. Here goes nothing. :)  
**

"I can't believe you fell for that one!" Tom laughed as Harry wiped the thick pile of mud off of his head. His hair was oozing with the thick substance that was now smeared throughout half of his face as well.

"It's not exactly like I was watching for giant piles of mud to be flying through the air in this program!" Harry retorted in half hearted mock offense.

Tom had been working on his newest holodeck venture which he called, "Monster Truck Rally". The rather large ancient vehicles hadn't been used in centuries. They were formerly used the purpose of entertainment. He'd designed a wide array of stunt shows for the crew. Everyone had shown up for the big reveal of opening night, with the exception of those placed on duty. The Captain had been persuaded to join the festivities as well. Neelix had excitedly volunteered to be announcer and though Tuvok tried to get out of it, Neelix had volunteered him to co-host the event. Harry, Tom, B'Elanna and Ensign Wildman were the drivers who would be putting on the show tonight.

Tom could hardly control his laughter at the expression on his best friend's face. "Oh, Harry," he shook his head, "What'd you expect? We'd be driving through grass? How boring would that be?! Mud is much more fun!" The new father grinned mischievously. He'd been getting used to fatherhood the last few weeks and was doing an excellent job, but he and B'Elanna needed a break from the joys of waking up at all hours of the night. This program had been one he'd begun before she'd given birth and was nearly finished by the time Miral was born. It only took a few hours to finish. He was sure Miral would enjoy giving her sitter a large handful, though he hoped not more than she could handle. B'Elanna had laughed at his suggestion saying that Miral might just sleep the entire time, if only to be ironic and awake all night for her parents to enjoy her boisterous lung capacity once more.

"So, are you nervous about tonight?" Harry asked in attempt to steer the conversation away from his embarrassment.

Tom looked puzzled for a moment, "About what?" he asked. His demeanor was full of confidence and pride. "This show is going to be a hit, I don't think there's anything to worry about."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Oh it's going to be big, that's for sure." He gave a small smile. "But that's not what I was talking about. Isn't this the first time you've had a sitter?" he asked knowingly.

Tom chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair as he sighed, "Yeah, but it won't be the last." He gave a pat to the vehicle he'd be driving tonight, 'Colossus' he called it. "It's gonna be nice taking a breather, oh but she's worth it." He smiled, "Miral is full of surprises, someday she'll be making holoprograms with her old man."

Harry laughed out loud, "Does B'Elanna know about this idea of yours?" he asked as they walked out of the holodeck.

Tom grinned as the put his hand on his friend's shoulder, "All in good time Harry, all in good time".

As she approached the door she felt completely nervous, her hands were somewhat clammy and her cheeks were a bit flushed. She tried to focus on what Chakotay had told her early that day. He'd said she would do fine and not to worry, he was only a comm. badge away if she needed anything. Seven took a deep breath as she pushed the button on their door.


	2. Chapter 2

B'Elanna walked to the door, dressed in a blue jumpsuit with purple pin stripes down the sides. Her expression was calm and friendly as she opened the doors with a small smile, "Come on in Seven" she said to obviously nervous girl. Seven looked like as out of place as she felt, her hands behind her back, her attire was shockingly awkward to look at because for so long she'd worn biosuits and just recently had she requested a uniform and worn casual attire when she was off duty. B'Elanna had been shocked when Seven began caring about her appearance and asking her for advice. She'd not always gotten along with her former borg crewmate, but they'd been in their fair share of scraps together and shared a few moments even. Over the years she'd slowly begun to understand Seven and even considered her a friend. Seven had always been close to Naomi Wildman and had babysat the former youngest member of Voyager's crew on many occasions. She'd also taken care of several young former borg children until all but Echeb had been returned to their families or adopted. There had even been a small baby of the former borg children who after several weeks had been placed with a family of her species. Samantha Wildman had recommended her to Tom and B'Elanna and they both agreed that Seven was really the best choice given Neelix was helping with the festivities of the Rally.

Seven stepped into the room slowly, her hair was in a loose ponytale with a small red ribbon, she wore a red tank top with a long sleeved knitted black button up sweater and grey slacks. It was going to take some time getting used to seeing her dressed so ordinary for most of the crew. "I presume you have specific instructions for the evening?" Seven asked anticipating a list of things to do and not do much like Sam had when Seven begun babysitting Naomi a few years ago.

B'Elanna smiled, "Not so much, I'm sure you know what you're doing. Miral's pretty easy, except when she throws a fit. But good luck with that." She gave a small laugh shaking her head at the sleeping infant. "She's asleep now, but I don't know how long that will last. The formula for her milk is by the replicator, she might eat once while we're gone, other than that," B'Elanna put her hand on Seven's arm lightly as she was almost out the door, "I hope you don't have too tough a time, Miral can be a handful when she's woken up." B'Elanna turned to the door but then spun back around as if she'd forgotten something, "Oh and Seven, thank you, I really appreciate you doing this." She looked at her friend kindly with a small smile and left for the holodeck.

Seven let out a small sigh, looking around the room she was puzzled, what was the large box in the middle of the living room for? It felt strange to her to be in their quarters, she'd never actually been inside anyone's quarters except the Captain's, Samantha Wildman's, Neelix and recently Chakotay's. Chakotay, she had almost forgot to check in with him. He'd asked her to let him know when she got there so that he could arrange for someone else to take over the bridge if she needed his help.

"Seven to Chakotay" she said softly into her comm. badge. Chakotay smiled ear to ear, he loved it when he heard her voice. He was so proud of her for interacting more with the crew and she'd come so far lately stepping out of her comfort zone to really try and form deeper relationships with members of the crew and not just himself, though she'd taken the largest steps with him, he knew. He'd vowed to be there for her every step of the way. He knew how timid Seven could be underneath her stern and seemingly distant demeanor, she was just a fragile woman who had a big heart and despite the fact that it defied logic, low self esteem. He had watched her from afar and gradually became close friends with her over the last few years and now at last she was ready to have a more personal relationship with him. "I'm here honey, is everything alright?" he asked with concern in his voice. He knew she was nervous about the evening.

Seven smiled at hearing his kind words, he always made her feel more comfortable with herself, "Yes, I just arrived and Leu.." she stopped and corrected herself, "B'Elanna just left for the holodeck." She'd been trying to refer to her crewmates, her friends as most everyone else did. She'd always used their ranks before to keep her distance but finally she was warming up to the idea of being closer to everyone. When the Doctor had removed the failsafe her emotions had been released even more than she could have imagined before, she had no idea that she had been missing out on so much of life. Every kind word and small gesture now meant something more to her than just an irrelevant pleasantry. She felt as if a whole new world had opened up to her that she hadn't fully realized or felt like she was apart of before.

"Alright honey, just let me know if you need anything." When she didn't answer him right away, he knew she was still somewhat uncomfortable. "Seven, do you want to stay on the comm. for awhile?" he offered knowingly. She had always been uncomfortable being alone and given the circumstances and unfamiliar surroundings he knew she would be all the more uneasy.

She smiled at his ability to guess what she wanted without her even having to ask him. "Yes, I would like that."

She walked over to the crib and carefully put one hand gently on the rail as she looked fondly at the sleeping infant. Miral looked so peaceful in her crib, so innocent as she let out a small giggle in her sleep. Perhaps she was having a dream of some sort. She felt something tug at her heart, a longing she hadn't known before.

She suddenly wondered if she'd ever be able to have a child, she'd never asked the Doctor about her reproductive capabilities and it wasn't something that had come up in conversation with him over the past few years though she wondered why she'd never been informed. She'd have to ask him about that later. She tried to get her mind off of such things as it was impertinent to the situation at hand.

She looked around the room, a batleth hanging on the wall, Miral's crib, models of all sorts of space crafts about the room and a large box placed in front of the couch. Chakotay had been right, the Paris's had a style all their own. She sat down on the couch in front of the 'television' as Tom had referred to it the day before mentioning she was welcome to watch it if she wanted to. She stared at it for a few moments but it didn't do anything. "I fail to see the purpose of this 'television', why do they find it so fascinating?" she asked Chakotay sounding puzzled.

He gave a small chuckle, "Honey, you might try turning it on.. they probably turned it off before they left."

Seven blushed a bright red though no one could see. "Oh, I was unaware the device need to be initiated." She replied, her embarrassment apparent.

"It's alright Seven," Chakotay said reassuringly, "Tom has all sorts of odd devices, you can't be expected to know how they all work."

Seven nodded in agreement, "Yes, I suppose you're right. How did you know how the device operated?" Seven wondered curiously. She hadn't seen anything like it before but guessed now it might be something like the 'theater' they'd gone to on the holodeck last week; though she couldn't recall having to activate the viewing screen.

He smiled thinking how sweet she was, Seven had an innocent way about her that he found completely charming. "Tom had a few of us over for some movies not long after B'Elanna replicated it for him as a gift a few years ago. The button to turn it on is on the top to the left."

"Alright, thank you." She replied feeling somewhat abashed that she hadn't known how to work the device, though she knew she shouldn't be expected to. She had always hated making mistakes, but she guessed it was something she should get used to. After all, as Janeway had often said, it was 'all part of being human'. She pressed the button and sat back down uncertain of what would happen. To her dismay it was a western and a rather loud one at that.

She quickly turned it off but Miral had already started stirring. A small cry came from the crib shortly after. Seven felt the awful twinge of guilt as she walked quickly over to the distressed infant.

Miral had tears in her eyes and looked as if she wasn't sure whether she wanted to wake up or return to her former slumber. Seven gently reached down and picked her up placing her on her shoulder and rubbing her back softly. Miral closed her eyes almost immediately and seemed to be returning to sleep. Seven remembered the time she'd spent with the young borg infant and how easily she'd gotten her to sleep as well. Perhaps children were comfortable with her. She smiled at the thought.

"Sounds like you handled that well", Chakotay whispered gently. "Good work honey." He grinned to himself, he was so proud of her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: A special thanks to my friend scifiromance for beta reading this chapter for me. :) I doubt anyone reading this hasn't read her fics but if so you really should. "Their Human Errors" was just updated and is wildly popular. This chapter was difficult for me to write but I think it turned out well. If you like it please leave a review and let me know what you thought. Thanks for reading. :)**

"And Tom flies through the air over one, two, three, FOUR cars! AMAZING!" Neelix exclaimed in awe.

Tuvok standing next to him, having been volunteered to 'co-announce' this event, raised an eyebrow, "It was unlikely, but not impossible." He said in the most earnest of seriousness that only Tuvok could convey after viewing such an event.

Neelix laughed, "Oh, Mister Vulcan," he began as he put his hand on Tuvok's shoulder. "I'd say it was spectacular", he smiled.

The crowd was certainly pleased, clapping and cheering rang throughout the stadium Tom had created. Tom couldn't believe even the Captain was in attendance cheering on the stunt drivers. She seemed to be having fun. He was exhilarated at the rush of it, he'd just jumped over four cars with 'Colossus' as he'd named it. He gave the truck a sentimental pat after he'd climbed down the ladder. "Well Harry, nice try but I think I'm definitely ahead of you in the stunt department."

Harry sighed, "You know, someday I'll get you to play the clarinet and then we'll see who's better at that." He said jokingly.

Tom laughed, "Oh Harry, that'll be the day" he grinned. Harry shook his head as they both sat down on the bleachers with their fellow crewmates as they watched B'Elanna get ready to show off her skills at stunt driving.

B'Elanna looked confident as always, it seemed all a blur from the time she started up her engines. She soared over the cars gracefully and apparently with ease as well. "Impressive" Tuvok said unexpectedly as she cleared the sixth car and landed on the ground.

Neelix was almost speechless. "WOW, B'Elanna has done a remarkable job, she even impressed Mr. Tuvok." He smiled as he looked at his Vulcan friend.

"Indeed." Tuvok said in a matter of fact tone. "Lieutenant Torres' performance was extraordinary."

The Captain surprised the pair when she walked up behind them in the announcer's box, "Gentlemen," she said her hands each on one of their shoulders. "You've done an extraordinary job announcing, I think it's clear who won the bet tonight." She smiled.

"Captain, I didn't know you bet on who would win the rally." Neelix exclaimed in shock.

Tuvok looked at the Captain with a raised eyebrow, "A most illogical pastime." He voiced his disapproval. Tuvok wasn't one for gambling.

"Oh, you'd be surprised, I bet on B'Elanna. 1300 extra replicator rations and 50 hours of holodeck time doesn't seem so bad to me." She said smugly while momentarily looking at her fingernails then back up to Tuvok with a grin.

He stared at her blankly. "A fortunate happenstance." He dismissed her comments with his logical mind.

"Ah well, congratulations Captain." Neelix smiled at her. "It's good to see you having some fun". He added genuinely pleased that she was finally finding some time for a little r&r again.

It had been an eventful few months; Janeway's counterpart had come to the ship and told them how to avoid several horrible events in Voyager's timeline as well as brought a cure for Tuvok's illness. They also had delivered a crippling blow to the borg while getting themselves 30 years closer to home. The past few months had been anything but uneventful. She couldn't wait however to relay the news she'd just been given from Starfleet regarding the new commendations that were to be issued. It was about time.

B'Elanna walked over to Tom and Harry who were still amazed. Tom looked at his wife in a daze. "B'Elanna, you were _amazing_." He smiled sincerely and hugged her. "I can't believe you beat me." He looked at her large grin.

"Yeah, well, I always knew I'd be a great stunt performer." She smirked and they all laughed.

* * *

Seven was becoming tired. She'd changed Miral's diaper several times and now it was time for her feeding. She picked up the warm bottle of milk and held Miral with the baby's head resting in the crook of her folded arm. It was a curious sensation, holding such a fragile creature. Infants seemed so completely dependent on others for everything. She thought how frightening it must be to not know exactly what was going on and not have control over much of anything. It was difficult for her to believe that everyone had once been an infant. Diaper changing was particularly not something she thought anyone should enjoy doing; and yet, there was something so innocent and heartwarming about holding a baby. Perhaps it was the adorable looks that were given or how small all of infantile features were. Suddenly Miral's hand reached up and grabbed onto Seven's ring finger and wrapped her small fingers around it pulling Seven out of her thoughts. She blinked in surprise as she gazed down at the tiny hand wrapped around her finger. Miral let out a small gurgle spilling milk onto her cheek; Seven took the burping cloth from her shoulder and gently wiped the milk from her cheek. She didn't know if it was possible but Miral's eyes appeared to be smiling at her. A most curious sensation, she had never before experienced anything like it. The borg infant had only been with her for a short time and though the Doctor had repaired her, she had been mostly despondent. She watched as Miral slowly drifted off into sleep. She let out a soft sigh she didn't know she'd been holding in. This experience had made her wonder all the more about her own abilities to conceive a child should the appropriate time ever come for her.

"Seven?" Chakotay called over the conn., "I haven't heard from you in awhile, is everything alright?" he asked concernedly.

"Yes, I had to feed Miral and change her diaper several times. Klingon children appear to have a rather offensive odor." She laughed airily.

Chakotay grinned. "Oh I'm sure they do. I hope our children won't have that problem." He said before thinking about the implications of his statement. He was instantly overcome with the jitters, how was Seven going to react? He didn't want to scare her off by being too forward, though he was crazy about her. He was pretty sure she felt the same way. He was relieved when she replied.

"As do I." She replied seriously, making Chakotay chuckle.

He was taken aback by how easily it had seemed for her to respond. He hadn't realized it before because he wasn't comparing his relationship with Seven to anyone else, but now that he thought about it, this was the most serious relationship he'd ever been in. He knew he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life and apparently the feeling was completely mutual.

"Chakotay," Seven's voice pulled him out of his reverie. "Would you like to join me in a late dinner?" She asked somewhat shyly.

He smiled to himself, "I'd love to honey, how about we use the replicators this time?" he suggested, "I know you must be too tired to cook after this evening." He loved Seven's cooking but he didn't want her to outdo herself as he knew she liked to often.

"I agree, replication will suffice for the evening." She said with a small and barely audible sigh.

"Sounds like you've really worn yourself out." He said his voice full of concern.

She replied lightly, "It's nothing I cannot handle." She reassured him.


End file.
